Local News

Council OK's liquor license stipulation for Queen Lounge

Agreement with fine allows bar to stay open under new owners

By Jenni Grubbs

Times Staff Writer

Posted:
01/22/2014 04:00:00 PM MST

Fort Morgan Mayor Terry McAlister swears in Christine Castoe to a new term on the Fort Morgan City Council Tuesday night at City Hall. Castoe, who represents Ward 1, ran unopposed last November. Seated in the gallery at left and watching her get sworn in is her boyfriend, Ryan Stroh. (Jenni Grubbs / Fort Morgan Times)

FORT MORGAN — — The Fort Morgan City Council on Tuesday night approved a stipulated agreement that resolved violations under the liquor license at Queen Lounge at 112 W. Kiowa Ave. held by Keith Lehman.

Under the agreement, Lehman had to pay a $3,000 fine. The city already was holding that amount in abeyance instead of a suspension from previous violations last fall.

The council recently approved transferring that liquor license to new Queen Lounge owners Nick and Amy Grantham, but that transfer is awaiting state approval. In the meantime, the Granthams are operating under a temporary permit the council gave them.

But violations at the Queen Lounge on Dec. 2 related to over-serving liquor had triggered the setting of a public hearing before the council in early February. Yet the the council also directed city staff to seek possible ways to resolve it through a stipulated agreement, which is what City Manager/Interim City Attorney Jeff Wells and Police Chief Darin Sagel did, bringing an agreement to the council.

While the council had some back-and-forth discussion about what to do, with Councilman Joe Segura Jr. initially suggesting the issue go to the public hearing, the ultimate decision was to approve the stipulated agreement, but also to warn the Granthams again that any future liquor license violations at the Queen Lounge would have harsher consequences. The vote was 6-0-1, with Councilwoman Christine Castoe recusing herself due to conflict of interest, as she is co-owner of competing bar Club Tap.

Lehman thanked the council for approving the agreement and said he soon would be completely out of the bar business, with the Granthams fully taking over the Queen.

• Approved a resolution authorizing the mayor to sign a letter of support for seeking a Great Outdoors Colorado grant that would aid the city in funding flood recovery efforts. The amount of money the city could receive and what it would have to match are still to be determined, according to Wells, but the city wants to seek any available aid for fixing the flood-caused damage at Riverside Park and the surrounding area.

• Approved a bid for pricing discounts for library materials from Ingram Library Services, which is where Fort Morgan Public Library has purchased books and materials for 12 years, according to Community Services Director Josh Miller. He told the council that the materials being purchased with some or all of the $17,000 in the budget for that purpose likely would include audio and ebooks in addition to traditional paper books.

• Witnessed Mayor Terry McAlister swear in Castoe to a new new term in office to represent Ward 1 on the council.

• Received the 2014 budget books from Wells, who said a digital copy soon would be available on the city's website, as well.

• Approved a bid from Health Promotion Management, Inc. for $18,450 for a wellness portal and health coaching services for city employees. Human Resources/Risk Management Director Michael Boyer explained that this was another way the city would try to help its employees meet health goals and work toward healthier lifestyles, which in turn could lead to lower health insurance costs for the city. Boyer recommended HPMI's bid over those from four other providers due to the features offered by its portal system.

• Approved raising the city's workers' compensation insurance deductible to $5,000 so that annual premiums with Pinnacol Assurance would be lower and closer to what was budgeted for 2014. Boyer recommended taking the higher deductible, saying the city had been successful in greatly reducing employee accidents due to weekly safety meetings and placing greater emphasis on workplace safety.

• Scheduled a visioning retreat for 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 25, at City Hall. The council will discuss budgeting priorities for 2015 and beyond, as well as other goals and plans for the future. They also approved Wells' plan for showcase tours of city departments in coming months before holding council meetings at those departments. The tours would begin at 4 p.m., followed by the regular council meeting at 6 p.m.

• Approved the consent agenda, including the December disbursements and payroll and the Jan. 14 special council meeting minutes.

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